In the end (of season 1)
by Q'razy
Summary: A story of Korra running away in the end of the first season. It's told from Mako's perspective. Do enjoy and always review


On the South Pole, in the environment where you could freeze to death in a matter of minutes, a lone firebender was treading the frozen wastes, defying the glacial nature surrounding him. He needed to find someone, someone very dear to him, someone who meant the very world to him.

The Avatar.

She had run away on her polar bear dog, almost breaking his heart in the process.

_"Go away"._

_"Back to Republic City"._

_"I'm not the Avatar anymore. You don't need to do me any favours"_

Her words had stung deep in his chest. They had been spoken with such indifference and coldness that Mako had almost fallen for it.

_"We need to be patient with her", _Tenzin had said minutes after Korra disappeared to the frozen wilderness.

But no, patience wasn't the answer. Not this time. His instinct told him otherwise. Now wasn't the time to stand around and wait for her to come back. Korra needed someone to help her get through this, but no one had shown any signs of actually following her. Only when Mako had taken the first step to the door had everyone looked at him, silently agreeing and urging him to go forward and help her. What had surprised him the most was Korra's parents. Her mother had offered him a faint, but encouraging smile as if she already knew what was going on between them. Korra's father, however, had supported a stern face indicating only one thing: _if you hurt my daughter, you're gonna be sorry. _But even he acknowledged Mako with rigid nod... which was mostly elicited by his wife elbowing him gently.

And so he was here, near the ocean shore. There on the icy cliffs, a single 16-year-old girl sat. She was curled up in a little mess of brown hair and dark blue parka. Mako was about to call out for her, but stopped when a figure materialized beside her out thin air. At first sight, Mako would've guessed it to be Tenzin, but he realized that it wouldn't have made any sense. Tenzin was a Master of Air and the firebender was pretty sure that that didn't include teleportative powers. It was still very confusing though. The man wore the exact same robes as Tenzin did.

_"Who is he?"_

Faintly, Mako heard Korra mumble something. She was in tears, he could tell.

_"But you called me here", _a gentle voice spoke.

Mako could hear him just as clearly if he had been standing next to him. What was going on? And what did the robed stranger mean? Korra couldn't just conjure up people from thin air.

Mako's musing were cut short by movement from the young Avatar. Her head shot up from its place on her knees as she unwound herself from the tight little knot she had been.

_"Aang...", _Mako hear Korra say in awe.

_"Aang? As in... Avatar Aang? What?", _Mako was beyond confused right now. A dead Avatar talking to the current one. Was this one of her Avatar-powers? If so then it was wild.

_"You have finally connected with your spiritual self", _Aang's ghost or whatever it was, announced. Mako thought he detected a hint of pride in his voice.

"How?" was apparently all Korra could muster as an answer.

_"When we hit out lowest point, we are open to the greatest change"._

Right after Avatar Aang had finished his wise words, the air behind him tremored. Moments after, Mako spied a whole group of people materializing behind the previous Avatar.

The firebender marvelled at all the men and women who had once carried the same burden of the world on their shoulders as Korra did now.

_"Her past lives...", _Mako thought in comprehension.

Silently, Avatar Aang reached out to Korra. He placed his tattooed right hand on her should and the thumb of said hand over her heart. His left hand settled on her temple while the thumb pressed in the middle of Korra's forehead. Mako beheld in utter mystification as an ethereal aura surrounded Aang and then Korra. All her past lives' eyes and tattoos were radiating the same light, the same cosmic energy.

That was when Mako finally understood: _"They are restoring her bending!"_

And just as quickly as the whole phenomenon had begun, it was over. The past Avatars melted back into the air from which they had appeared. Mako took this as his moment of truth. He jumped and slid down the last glacial hill to where Korra's polar bear dog, Naga, was waiting for her master.

But then something unexpected happened. The young firebender was about to call out for his love, but the words died in his throat when Korra's eyes burst open. Her eyes were revealed to be sparkling with energy of the Universum, rendering them blazing white.

A sign of a fully realized Avatar, Mako realized in fear.

So he halted his steps and just stood by Naga to follow the events as they unfolded.

The air rippled and wailed as the Winds of the World sung her name, picking her up and propelling the young Avatar to the heights. Her arms extended, causing a great blast of air to exude from the multi-bender.

His breath and his very own _chi, _stood still for a moment when a great wall of fire burned its way from the Avatar.

The earth crackled and moaned as she beckoned it to answer her call from deep withing the icy glaciers of South Pole. But it heard her and heeded the call.

The unyielding ocean itself bent in submission as the Avatar called upon its immense power to wave and crash against the icy cliffside.

Mako took this all in with awe and fear. He had heard of the Avatar's awesome powers from the stories and legends that were all over the place, but to witness such _tour de force _with his own eyes... it was inconceivable.

For a one, single, ephemeral moment of doubt, Mako questioned himself. Korra had said he wouldn't need to do any favours for her since she wasn't the Avatar anymore, but now, when she was bending the nature to her own whimsical whims? Would she really need him any more now that she indeed _was _the Avatar again? What would an all-powerful being such as the Avatar need him for? Surely she had enough power to be happy on her own and as the Avatar.

_"I don't care if you're the Avatar or not!"_

_"Perfection and power are overrated"._

Mako was reminded of his own words and the words of wisdom from somewhere far back. He didn't care. He loved Korra, not the Avatar, just Korra and if she was the Avatar then so be it. Mako was not turning back just because of some cosmic technicality about Korra being the Avatar.

Finally, the World's Wind settled and lowered Korra gently back to earth, to him, to Mako.

He was still standing beside Naga and waiting for Korra to notice him. She did as her head perked up a bit and she slowly turned around to find him looking back at her with an expression of awe and admiration. That was however soon replaced by a gentle smile and when she broke into a smile as well, Mako strode forwards and opened his arms for her.

Korra, being the impatient and headstrong teenager she was, didn't settle for walking, but broke into a full sprint and launched herself into his waiting arms. Mako spun her around in giddy joy and embraced as tightly as he dared.

Finally, when Korra moved back slightly and gazed upon him, the firebender heard those words he'd been waiting for ever since he found her asleep on his shoulder in the Republic City park.

"I love you too".


End file.
